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Heather Seet & Victoria Brown, ICCO Next-Gen PR World Cup finalists – Team Singapore

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Heather Seet and Victoria Brown are one of 11 teams partaking in the inaugural ICCO Next-Gen PR World Cup finals.

The finals of the global event kicked off on October 13th and comes to a close today, October 18th. Before an official winner emerges, ICCO and PRCA wanted to highlight the talented group of young professionals who’ve made it into the finals after winning local and regional rounds of the contest over the past month. Join us as we get to know team Singapore below, in a brief round of Q&A.

Victoria Brown, Manager at Mutant Communications & ICCO Next-Gen PR World Cup finalist from Singapore

Victoria Brown

Manager at Mutant Communications

 

Q: What’s your favourite PR campaign that you’ve been involved in or have seen?
Victoria: My favourite PR campaign that I’ve worked on recently has to be Pavilion KL’s Christmas campaign in 2020. Pavilion KL is Malaysia’s premier shopping destination and known for their stunning festive decorations. However, because we were in the middle of a pandemic, we could not organise a big media launch to unveil the mall’s Christmas decor. So, to engage the media, we organised the delivery of festive media drops filled with Christmas goodies to select media and KOLs to invite them for a specially curated Christmas experience at Pavilion KL. Media and KOLs were treated to a personal one-on-one tour of the mall’s festive decorations, a pampering session, a festive dinner, followed by an overnight stay at Pavilion Hotel.

This personalised and fun-filled media engagement not only built media relationships with key editors, journalists, and KOLs, but we also garnered quality coverage and social media posts on the mall’s festive decorations and pitched listicles on Christmas gifting and Christmas activities at Pavilion KL.

On top of that, we pitched and secured regional coverage on Pavilion KL’s exclusive Dior Holiday Tree from the likes of Bazaar Vietnam and LionhearTV (Philippines). We also secured an exclusive interview in Malaysia’s largest English daily The Star, where shoppers shared their favourite Christmas memory at Pavilion KL and reminisced about their favourite Christmas decorations over the years.

Despite the restrictions and challenges faced due to the pandemic, we managed to secure 88 pieces of media coverage (a 214% increase from the year before) that helped to boost awareness and drive footfall to the mall. It was overall such a fun campaign to work on, I loved coming up with creative ways to engage the media and different angles to pitch to different publications to garner maximum PR mileage for the client.

Q: What does being creative mean to you?
Victoria: Coming up with fresh, bold, engaging, out-of-the-box ideas!

Q: Favourite social media account to follow?
Victoria: There’s so many! I love Ryan Reynolds’ digital marketing agency Maximum Effort’s Instagram page (@maximumeffort) – I like their approach to video ads. I am also a fan of Nike’s and Heineken’s social pages. They have great campaigns, videos, and social content!

 

Heather Seet, Associate at Mutant Communications & 2021 ICCO Next-Gen PR World Cup Finalist

Heather Seet

Associate at Mutant Communications

 

Q: What’s your favourite PR campaign that you’ve been involved in or have seen?

Heather: I remember coming across the IKEA ThisAbles Project via its award-winning campaign. The project was conceived to allow people with special needs to easily use and access IKEA products within their homes. It had all the right elements: compelling storytelling, meaningful purpose, targeted partnerships, and scalable outcomes that really make a difference. My favourite part is that the campaign continues to expand and impact – new blueprints have been created, including developments for children. That’s how you know an idea really moves people – when it goes beyond the campaign to become its very own movement.

Q: What does being creative mean to you?

Heather: Creativity goes beyond big, bold ideas – it needs to present vibrant solutions to existing challenges. So creativity at its best is a collaborative process, a constant refinement that blends different perspectives and opinions to deliver holistic results.

Q: Favourite social media account to follow?

Heather: Ketnipz – I love how the artist uses Instagram Stories in compelling, engaging ways. Even ads on the account don’t seem like it, because they blend with creative storytelling to deliver the most satisfying and engaging content!

 

Over the last 5 days, the Victoria and Heather have worked to create and film a video pitch of an original campaign for a brief set by Think Tank, the International SOS Foundation. As of today, an international team of judges will score each pitch. Winners will be announced on October 21st.

Workplace Mental Wellbeing Audit 2021: Francis Ingham Forward

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Francis Ignham, PRCA Director General

The Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), Opinium Research and The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) have published new research on the state of mental health in the UK industry. PRCA Director General Francis Ingham reflects on the findings and shares his own battle with mental health.

I thought long and hard about what to say in this foreword. And after a great deal of hesitation, I reached the conclusion that honesty was best. So here goes…

I have suffered from appalling mental health my whole life. Frequent bouts of depression; destructive and pointless anxiety; an underlying lack of confidence. All of which I’ve hidden from almost everybody.

Why do I say this now having kept quiet about it for decades? Because it would be disingenuous to do otherwise given the content of this report, and given the recommendations it makes, particularly about the need for candour.

Covid threw a powerful spotlight on mental health. I have never before had so many conversations about how people were feeling. And they were honest conversations, not the ‘Oh fine thanks. How about you?’ type. That’s one positive of Covid, and I can’t see it going away.

This report delivers data on where we are, and recommendations on what we should do. Some of its findings -such as nine out of ten practitioners have suffered mental ill health over the past year- are shocking. Others -such as three out of four have found their workplace to be supportive- are very welcome.

The four recommendations are simple, sensible, and sound. You shouldn’t feel guilty because you’re feeling unwell. You definitely should talk about the issue. We need to take better care of ourselves, and for many, that’s about workload. And where hybrid working works well, keep on with it -we’ve certainly embraced it at the PRCA and ICCO: some people like working from an office -cool. Some people like working from home -that’s cool too. Most people like a mix.

For many of us, this has been the most stressful, challenging period of our lives. Many people have been broken by it. Even more have come close to breaking point. But every crisis is a catalyst for change, whether for the better or for the worse. If we embrace the recommendations made here, then that change can definitely be for the better.

Csenge Maller & Gerda Scheirich, Hungary’s ICCO Next-Gen PR World Cup Finalists

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The finals of the ICCO Next Generation PR World Cup will be underway this Wednesday, October 13th. Having won the local PR cup in Hungary, Gerda Scheirich and Csenge Maller are set to compete against 10 other teams in the final round of the inaugural event. Join us as we get to know two of Hungary’s trailblazing young PR professionals.

Gerda Scheirich, PR Consultant at Open Communications & ICCO Next-Gen PR World Cup Finalist

Gerda Scheirich

PR Consultant at Open Communications

 

What’s your favourite PR campaign that you’ve been involved in or have seen?

My favorite campaign I worked on is ”rEGGelem* campaign” (*reggelem means ‘My Morning’ or in a creative way: ‘BrEGGfast’). The Hungarian Egg Association’s CSR campaign, rEGGelem, that is a school program launched in 2019, emphasizes the importance of having breakfast for young people. But it could not continue within the usual school framework due to the pandemic. Therefore, we proposed that the program should move to social media platforms, including TikTok, which is the most dynamically developing platform in Hungary and globally.

 

What does being creative mean to you?
For me, being creative means being able to solve a problem in a unique way. And as a result, creating something valuable that has a positive impact on others: making them laugh, think, take action or “simply” making their life better.

 

Favourite social media account to follow?

Gulyás Lídia  and Formula 1 official Instagram page.

 

 

Csenge Maller, Junior PR Consultant at Open Communications & ICCO Next-Gen PR World Cup Finalist

Csenge Maller

Junior Public Relations Consultant at Open Communications

 

What’s your favourite PR campaign that you’ve been involved in or have seen?

One of my favorite campaigns is related to support premature babies. It included among others expert interviews, media and influencer collaborations,  and also a strong online presence. This theme always warms my heart.

 

What does being creative mean to you?
For me, being creative means to create something unique that grabs attention and leaves a lasting mark in people.

 

Favourite social media account to follow?

Neubeller Réka. I’m impressed by her thoughts, style and perspective on life.

 

To read more about the competition, click here.

ICCO Next-Gen PR World Cup Finalists – Onyeka Iyoha & Hameed Olanrewaju

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Last week, it was announced that Modion Communication’s Onyeka Iyoha and Hameed Olanrewaju won the PR World Cup regionals in Africa and are set to compete globally against 10 other teams from October 13th to October 18th, in the ICCO’s Next Generation PR World Cup. Now it’s time to get to know our finalists!

Onyeka Iyoha, Research Executive/Data Analyst at Modion Communications & ICCO Next-Gen PR World Cup Finalist

Onyeka Iyoha

Research Executive/Data Analyst at Modion Communications

 

What’s your favourite PR campaign that you’ve been involved in or have seen?

For me PR is essentially a storytelling and image-shaping tool and the best campaign I have had the opportunity to be a part of is the disruptive #Gokada2.0 campaign by Modion Communications. Our team successfully reshaped the image of the Gokada brand and re-instated public goodwill. The campaign also elevated and repositioned the brand as safe for commute, tech led and customer first. #Godaka2.0 was not only impactful but clenched a Diamond Sabre Award as best Crisis Comms Campaign in 2020.

 

What does being creative mean to you?

Being creative means executing a concept that has never been done or developing a campaign in a different approach from the norm.

Favourite social media account to follow?

Food Network on Instagram

 

Hameed Olanrewaju, Head of Innovation & Insights at Modion Communications & 2021 Next-Gen PR World Cup finalist

Hameed Olanrewaju

Head of Innovation & Insights at Modion Communications

 

What’s your favourite PR campaign that you’ve been involved in or have seen?

I love the very talked about See Finish teaser campaign for Leadway Assurance, but my all-time favourite campaign is #DeterminedDele also by Modion Communications. The determination of Dele Fathia a schoolgirl who was pictured doing her homework at night with the illumination from an ATM facility exemplifies the Nigerian can do spirit and is worthy of reward. It is pure genius by Modion Communications to have conceptualised an award-winning PR strategy for Lumos Nigeria to improve Dele’s living conditions by installing a free solar power system in her home in less than 48 hours. The campaign is very touching, highly relatable and depicts the power of using one person’s story to illuminate a broader social issue.

What does being creative mean to you?

Creativity for me is an idea or concept that improves the way we live our lives. One of the core reasons I find #DeterminedDele campaign creative and alluring.

Favourite social media account to follow?

Mercedes-Benz on Instagram

 

The outcome of the finals will be announced on October 21st.

To read more about the competition, click here.

Iknoor Kaur & Neha Chandra, ICCO Next Generation PR World Cup Finalists

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Get to know Iknoor Kaur and Neha Chandra, who won first place at the local PR cup in India. The duo will go on to compete against 10 other teams, from October 13th to October 18th, in the ICCO’s Next Generation PR World Cup finals.

To read more about the competition, click here.

Iknoor Kaur

Corporate Brand & Communications Lead at SPAG Asia

 

Iknoor Kaur, Corporate Brand & Communications Lead at the Strategic Partners Group Asia & 1st place winner of the PCRAI PR World Cup

What’s your favourite PR campaign that you’ve been involved in or have seen?
A campaign close to my heart is Mission Medicine: Delivering Life – a campaign for Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance during the pandemic in June 2020. Amidst the ongoing COVID- 19 pandemic, the agency created a campaign that showcased technical expertise as well as the emotional drivers behind the pharmaceutical industry. It was an integrated (PR & Digital) campaign that celebrated unseen heroes, not only doctors but also those behind the scenes involved in the supply chain as they work tirelessly to ensure that medicines reach us all on time, in the toughest of times.

The 360-degree integrated nature of the campaign clicked with me. The campaign was driven through a series of videos entailing the stories that shed light on the challenges faced by the pharma employees – right from manufacturers to logisticians and pharmacists as a result of the lockdown. The messaging was supported by a systematic PR campaign which created an all-round impact.

I believe in this rapidly changing world of today, integrated communications plays a crucial role. Moreover, cause-related and purpose driven campaigns hold way more impact and connect with audiences at a much deeper level. For me, it’ll always be those campaigns that’ll leave a mark.

         

What does being creative mean to you?
Creativity is all about looking within and going with the flow. I don’t think creativity is something that can be learnt. It’s a soft skill that needs nurturing. It’s almost a mindset, in my opinion. An ability to constantly unlearn and learn, to be aware, mindful, open to change and ever evolving; where every new idea is an opening into a new possibility. A creative world is a world without limits.

Favourite social media account to follow?

It’s tough to pick only one, but I think I’ll go with Kunal Shah on Twitter.

 

 

Neha Chandra

Senior Account Executive at SPAG Asia

 

Neha Chandra, Senior Account Executive at SPAG & 1st place winner at the 2021, PCRAI PR World Cup

What’s your favourite PR campaign that you’ve been involved in or have seen?
My favourite would be Medela’s Back to Work campaign. Medela, a breast pump and nursing accessories manufacturer, had found that many Indian women either gave up breastfeeding when they went back to work or quit their jobs when they gave birth. They took to PR to solve this unique challenge. Medela conducted a survey to study trends on maternity leave, breastfeeding practices, and work-life balance for a new mother and the results showed that nearly 42% of working mothers quit breastfeeding due to the inability to manage work and motherhood. The survey results also showed that many women didn’t know how to use breast pumps. An integrated communications campaign was designed to educate mothers on using Medela’s products through a mix of on-ground activities, video storytelling, blogger engagement, print and broadcast outreach and social media in an engaging and relatable way. Encouraging the dialogue further were the Medela Experts and the Lactoclave – a series of webinars designed for experience sharing.

I have always been passionate about healthcare communication and the power PR holds in changing the narrative, and so when I came across this campaign I knew there was something so new and refreshing about it. In India, breastfeeding is still seen as an under the covers act and women often get ogled at for feeding their children in public.  Breastfeeding in itself is such a taboo topic so when the conversation started on encouraging women to go back to work, once they feel fit and creating a suitable environment for them, it was bound to catch eyeballs. The campaign showed that while biologically, mothers are responsible for carrying and delivering the baby, taking care of the baby then on must be a shared responsibility. Women should not feel like they have to give up their passion professionally to take care of their baby. And that actually paved way for the next campaign I got to work on with Medela.

What does being creative mean to you?
Being creative means to let loose, to eliminate any bias/pre conceived notion you may hold, to not be afraid to question, and not be afraid to be questioned, to let your imagination run wild.

Favourite social media account to follow?

Tough one. At present I am immersed in healthcare content created by doctor influencers so I would say @dr_cuterus, who talks about everything we should have learnt in sex ed at school.

 

The winners Of  the PR World Cup will be announced on October 21st.

ICCO announces new Regional Presidents

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ICCO is pleased to announce that five Regional Presidents have been appointed, who will represent the recently formed Regional Boards covering Europe, Americas, Middle East, Africa and Asia.
 
The following candidates were elected by the ICCO Global Board of Management:
 
Europe: Juergen H. Gangoly, Managing Partner, The Skills Group; Vice President, Public Relations Verband Austria (PRVA)
 
Americas: Aaron Kwittken, Global Chairman & CEO, Kwittken; Board Director, PR Council
 
Middle East: Loretta Ahmed, CEO, Middle East, Africa & Turkey, Grayling; Chairman, PRCA MENA
 
Africa: Bridget Von Holdt, Executive Director, Glasshouse Communication Management; representative of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA)
 
Asia Pacific: Nitin Mantri, CEO, Avian Media; President, Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI)
 
The Regional Presidents will join the Global Executive Committee, comprised of the Global President, Vice President, Treasurer, immediate Past President, the Regional Presidents, and the Chief Executive.
 
The new structure, announced at the Global ICCO PR Summit in Oxford in September, aims to ensure that all regionals, organisations and individuals represented by ICCO can create and develop their own voice for the benefit of the regional and global PR and communications industry.
 
Commenting on the new structure, ICCO President Maxim Behar said: “All regions from now on will be represented in the ICCO Global Executive Committee. But not only that; elected Regional Presidents are great professional colleagues and widely known PR experts and we do believe that their input into ICCO’s management will be significant. We all look forward to working together to strengthen ICCO’s position as the largest global PR community.”
 
Juergen H. Gangoly, newly appointed Regional President – Europe said: “With ICCO’s new regional structure in Europe, we have the goal to further grow the organisation and make the voice of Europe’s PR industry even more heard by the public. We will intensify ICCO’s relations to European institutions and to partner organisations in the wider communications industry all over Europe. Supporting cross-border co-operation amongst our members from training and educational activities to business and information services will be part of ICCO’s working programme in Europe for the coming years.”
 
Aaron Kwittken, ICCO Regional President – Americas said: “I am looking forward to working with my colleagues around the world to better promote cross-border collaboration and conversation around a compelling point of view on our role in an increasingly digital world without agency borders.”
 
Loretta Ahmed, ICCO Regional President – Middle East said: ““As we continue to evolve our agencies and what we do on behalf of our clients, we must also do so with one eye on the rest of the world. That connection, especially for a region emerging as fast as the Middle East is critical. I’m honoured to be elected President for ICCO in the Middle East. Having lived in the region for four years I continue to see communications consultancies delivering world class campaigns and ICCO provides another platform for recognition on all that the Middle East PR sector is achieving.”
 
Bridget Von Holdt, ICCO Regional President – Africa said: “Africa tends to be the forgotten continent, yet is identified as a focal growth point for so many international companies. As the Regional President, I will use the ICCO platform to position Africa and the agencies represented on the continent as strategic partners, as innovative and of course as the experts within the region.”
 
Nitin Mantri, representing Asia Pacific as Regional President, said: “ICCO has been making giant strides in elevating the public relations profession, and now with the regional bodies there will be greater consistency in communications standards across the world. The aim would be to encourage discussions on the issues facing the industry and sharing the best practices across this region to elevate ICCO’s role in Global public relations.”
 
About ICCO
The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations, agencies and networks in 48 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

ICCO President in Oslo: PR is the most challenging business in the world

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“Public relations has been turned on its head, only in the past couple of years and has became the most challenging business in the world”, ICCO President Maxim Behar said at the recent international conference “Oslo PR Talks”. Behar was a keynote speaker at the conference, officially supported by ICCO and PRCA.

“These days to practice public relations is a great challenge and it requires very special qualities from our teams – fast decision making, story telling in a very short and catchy way, but also vision to the future and predictions of what will be the next means of communication. The challenges come mainly from the fact also that the three main elements of public communications – advertising, public relations and digital – are merging very fast and we must prove our place as leaders in the future joint business”, Behar said.

“Oslo PR Talks” is the first conference of its kind organised by the The P World. “We were happy to cooperate with ICCO on this significant project, as we also did earlier this year in Reykjavik, Iceland. Our Oslo participants were very pleased by the motivating keynote speech of Mr. Behar”, said Kosta Petrov, CEO of The PR World.

More than 200 participants joined the event, including speakers Mary Jo Jacoby, US Presidential Adviser; Malena Cutuli, Global Head of Brand of Communications for Shell; Donald Steel, former spokesperson of BBC; John Shields, current Director of Communications of BBC and many others.

About ICCO
The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) is the voice of public relations consultancies around the world. The ICCO membership comprises national trade associations in 48 countries across the globe in Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Americas and Australia. Collectively, these associations represent some 2,500 PR firms.
www.iccopr.com

International judging panel announced for ICCO Global Awards

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ICCO is proud to announce the judges for the ICCO Global Awards 2016; the global showcase for the most effective PR from the world’s most talented practitioners.

The awards are the only internationally recognised awards programme purely based on effectiveness, measurement, results and impact for the global PR industry, and supported by PR trade associations representing 48 countries worldwide.

Entries are judged by an elite international panel of top PR practitioners who will consider excellence and effectiveness of PR work submitted from across the world.

David Gallagher, co-President of the jury said: “Much of the discussion in PR about earned, paid or owned media, or the changing nature of social media, or the importance of creative storytelling, or any of the other myriad topics we discuss, are largely academic. The thing that matters: results. What happened as a result of our activity in terms of behaviour, attitude or ideas? That’s what the ICCO awards emphasize – and that’s what makes them unique.”

 

ICCO Global Awards International Jury:

Co-President: Renee Wilson, President, PR Council (USA)

Co-President: David Gallagher, President, Growth and Development, International, Omnicom Public Relations Group (Global)

Poli Stuart-Lacey, Head of Communications, UK Government (UK)

Michael Schröder, Global President, IPREX (Global)

Michael Frohlich, CEO, EMEA, Ogilvy Public Relations (EMEA)

Victoria Wagner, CEO, Ketchum Germany (Germany)

Denise Kaufmann, CEO, Ketchum London (UK)

Lucio Bergamaschi, Director General, Below Communications and Media Relations (Italy)

Jean-Leopold Schuybroek, Chairman, Interel Belgium (Belgium)

Andrey Barannikov, CEO, SPN Communications (Russia)

John Ehiguese, Founder & CEO, Mediacraft Associates (Nigeria)

Dimitris Roulias, CEO, Out of the Box PR (Greece)

Sharon Murphy, Deputy CEO, Wilson Hartnell (Ireland)

Jürgen Gangoly, Managing Partner, The Skills Group (Austria)

Emine Cubukcu, Managing Director, Ogilvy Public Relations Istanbul (Turkey)

Kresten Schultz Jorgensen, Managing Partner, LEAD Agency (Denmark)

Bridget von Holdt, Executive Director, Glasshouse Communication Management (South Africa)

Grzegorz Szczepanski, CEO, Hill+Knowlton Strategies Poland (Poland)

Andras Sztaniszlav, Senior Consultant & Communications Strategist, PersonaR (Hungary)

Jelena Sarenac, Director of Corporate Communications, Henkel (Serbia)

Michaela Benedigova, Director and Partner, SEESAME Communication Experts, (Slovakia)

Katya Dimitrova, Managing Partner, Interpartners (Bulgaria)

Stian Lyberg, Consultant & Founder Partner, PR-operatørene (Norway)

Marina Haluzan, Information and PR Adviser, Croatia Control (Croatia)

Tatevik Pirumyan, Founder, Managing Director, Communication Management Group (Armenia)

Sari-Liia Tonttila, Managing Director, Ahjo Communications (Finland)

Gary Muddyman, Managing Director and CEO, Conversis (UK)

Aaron Kwittken, CEO, Kwittken Communications (USA)

Sconaid McGeachin, President & CEO, Africa, Middle East & Turkey, Hill+Knowlton Strategies (MENA)

Tanya Hughes, President, SERMO Communications (Global)

Isabelle Wolf, CEO & Founder, Kingcom (France)

Loretta Ahmed, CEO Middle East, Turkey & Africa, Grayling (MENA)

Barry Leggetter, CEO, AMEC (Global)

George McGregor, Managing Partner, Interel UK (UK)

Aye Verckens, Managing Director, Recognition PR (Australia)

Rakesh Thukral, Managing Director, Edelman India (India)

 

KEY DATES:

Final entry deadline: 02 November 2016

Shortlist Announced: 17 November 2016

Awards Night (St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London): 01 December 2016

 

For more information on entries the awards or attending the awards night, visit awards.iccopr.com.

Executive Summary – World PR Report 2016

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Article by Francis Ingham, Chief Executive of ICCO

The ICCO & PRWeek World PR Report is the definitive analysis of where the global PR and comms industry stands today; how it has been performing over the past year; and what it predicts will happen in the next few. Drawing on the breadth and depth of ICCO’s membership – 37 national associations, operating in 48 countries, and representing more than 2,500 agencies – it is a vital tool in understanding our industry.

What are the headlines?

Agency heads are optimistic. On a scale of 1-10, there is a global average of exactly 7. The most optimistic markets are the UK (8.1), and the Middle East (8.0); the least are Latin America (5.9), and Africa (6.0).

And they are expecting an increase in profitability, with a score of 6.2. Leading the pack is North America (7.2), followed by the UK at precisely 7. At the other end, we have Latin America again (5.2), and Western Europe (5.7).

Both of those findings deserve celebration, given the at times tempestuous and uncertain state of the world economy. What is driving this performance? I would highlight three factors, which we have seen for the past few years now, and which are remarkably constant region-by-region.

The first is chief executives taking corporate reputation seriously. Quite simply, the business community around the world is more aware than ever before of the fact that their most important asset is their reputation.

The second is that marketers are taking their spend away from other disciplines, and diverting it into more effective mediums of PR and comms. And the third is that clients are increasingly asking public relations firms to provide non-traditional services.

Those last two points amount to one incontrovertible trend – in an increasingly integrated marketing world, PR’s nimbleness, insight, and creativity is beating the competition.

What have been the main practice areas of growth?

Four stand out head and shoulders above the rest – digital comms; corporate reputation; marcomms; and public affairs. And when agency heads are asked to predict which sectors will drive growth over the coming years, they name exactly those four again.

Obviously, there are variations by region, reflecting different local priorities, and different levels of market maturity. But the message is clear – those areas have driven growth in the past, and are set to do so again in the future. Looked at by sector, we again see four key areas of growth now and in the future – technology; consumer; healthcare; and financial and professional services. And underpinning all of this behaviour is the crucial role PR and comms agencies now play in social media and community management, and in creating content across the whole range of media – areas where wise agencies are making significant investment. So far, so encouraging.

But what of the challenges faced by the industry?

It will come as no surprise that two perennial ones are right up there – meeting profit margins, and handling general economic conditions. The first is a symptom of PR’s inability to charge appropriately for the value it delivers – former ICCO chairman Richard Houghton’s regular lament that ‘Fridays are free’; the second is something over which we have no control.

The area where we certainly have the ability to make a difference is talent. In six of the nine world regions, it tops the bill as the key challenge. In fact, only in Asia does talent not rank in the top three. Although our industry continues to power ahead, its growth is being hindered by our failure to attract and then to retain the very best.

Within that challenge are two specific areas of concern: hiring senior staff, and attracting people from non-traditional background. The latter is of particular concern to ICCO. If agencies keep on recruiting the same type of person, with the same type of background, they are automatically excluding themselves from large parts of the market. The more varied teams are, the abler they are to deliver excellent services to the widest possible range of clients.

I would make two final observations: First, and it is a point made by several contributors from different regions, the industry has reached a happy place of maturity. Social media and content may be the biggest areas of growth, but there is still room for the older skills of PR and comms, such as media relations. And that place exists in established and developing markets.

There is, quite simply, a home for all branches of our profession.

Second, what a brilliant time to be in this industry. Even in difficult economic circumstances, PR and comms agencies are profitable, growing, and optimistic.

How would I sum up the future? Bright. And getting brighter.

Download a free copy of the ICCO & PRWeek World PR Report 2016 here. 

 

Trends transforming global PR

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Article by Tanya Hughes, President, SERMO Communications

This summer, we locked SERMO’s 15 lifestyle PR agencies from all over the world in a conference room in Milan for three days to talk about transformation.  Transformation of clients’ and brands’ needs, of our services, of digital influence, of retail and technology, of our staff makeup. There was plenty of inspiration and plenty of handwringing. In the end we agreed that ‘only the paranoid survive’ and that that’s a good thing. Here are outtakes from the conference – the trends we think are transforming global PR:

  1. Every company is a digital company

Generalist PR skills such as writing, media relations, event management and strategic planning are still core competencies. But now that digital content is the new ‘me time’, every agency is piling in to fill the space. Specialist skills in multimedia content development, SEO, social and digital and analytics are now critical ingredients in the arsenal of progressive PR agencies. To find these digital experts, SERMO agencies are recruiting from media, advertising and production agencies. Nota Bene in Spain have recruited Art Directors, Online Marketing Managers and IT/Programming Managers and Mojo PR in Dubai have a new Head of Creative Content who’s highly connected to filmmakers and other producers, training agency staff in video production and editing.

  1. Keep millennials happy

How to keep our people happy, especially ‘millennials’, was a hot topic this year. Millennials (those born between the 1980s and 2000s) need targeted attention. They have grown up in a society thriving on rapid technological advancement. They expect to be able to access the latest technology at work. Upgrade or die! For them, change is the constant, and they demand this from an employer – they want their careers to progress quickly. According to a report produced by PwC Australia, 71% of millennials are dis-engaged at their jobs as a result of this sense of entitlement. SERMO agencies know that human capital is their biggest asset so they’re investing in training, tailored benefits and new perks to help recruit and retain the very best talent. Talk PR in the UK have introduced a mentoring programme, RSVP in Singapore hold weekly yoga classes in the office to improve staff’s health and wellbeing and Tomorrowland Group in Australia have introduced a quarterly reset day (extra holiday day every quarter) to help their people maintain a work/life balance. All report improved retention and productivity.

  1. The seismic shift in retail

Retail, and fashion retail in particular, is going through enormous structural change. From the push for change in the now outdated two season fashion calendar, to the shift in consumer buying habits facilitated by digital and mobile technology. We heard from expert e-commerce speakers. POPSUGAR talked about the challenges of co-creating content for brands that will grab the eight second attention span of Gen Z, the domination of mobile and the holy grail of marketplace sites – seamless check out. While Yoox said their customers know what they want and come to them to shop, not for content! At the sharp end of technology, Metail are creating virtual fitting rooms that will improve and personalise service and cut returns. In the real world, bricks and mortar retail is moving toward creating experiences that can’t be replicated online.

All of which has implications for PR – the lifecycle of fashion/lifestyle stories is shorter and requires an integrated approach across content and channels, from influencer marketing to creative execution. It’s all about driving sales across all consumer touchpoints. Working with digital influencers, in particular, now drives huge sales for brands and retailers, often resulting in completely sold-out pieces.

  1. Redefining influence

Influence is not what it used to be. It’s more complex and dynamic and, above all, digital. But the digitisation of influence, doesn’t diminish PR’s core competence – harnessing influence through relationships. What it does mean is that working with digital influencers and KOLs and creating compelling digital content requires constant innovation – Negri Firman in Italy has set up a creative content arm called NFLAB, Flare in Hong Kong set-up a social and digital PR Hub in summer 2015 which now contributes over 33% of their total revenue, Tomorrowland Group in Australia and RSVP in Singapore have launched Talentland and RSVP@Talent (respectively) to manage the profiles of experts, digital influencers and creators. SERMO agencies like Adventi in China are also offering integration of paid, owned, shared and earned media and broadening their portfolio from working with digital influencers and paid amplification to programmatic advertising.

  1. Global media vacuum

Condé Nast Italia impressed us all with their innovative work with brands and co-created, extraordinary content. But what they can’t do, and what no major publishing house can do, is press a ‘button’ for global reach. There’s really no such thing as truly global media. We know this from our work with global clients such as Pernod Ricard and Procter & Gamble. It occurred to us that we could bring each of our market’s local influencers together, connected by the network partners, to create tangible global online reach for our clients’ brands. And at the same time, help influencers extend their global reach. So our next step is to make the SERMO Digital Influencer Index interactive, live and a service for clients and influencers – watch this space.

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